commemorative coin news stories on Newser

Wills, Kate on Souvenir Coin: 'Chunky,' 'Barely Recognizable'

Matt Cantor — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 09:58:53 CST

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s engagement is being commemorated with an official coin—but the engravings of the royal couple leave something to be desired, NPR reports. “Maybe the task of designing the special £5 coin in a month made it difficult to capture Miss Middleton's beauty,” observes Sara Dixon...

Coin in This Year's Super Bowl Is Out of This World

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 12:33:45 CST

By the time the coin in this year's Super Bowl lands heads or tails tonight, it will have more than 4 million miles under its belt, reports Space.com . The gold-plated coin accompanied shuttle Atlantis on its 11-day mission in November, and is the first to have flown in space...

Jazz Great Ellington Will Grace DC Quarter

Rob Quinn — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:07:00 CST

Late jazz legend Duke Ellington has been chosen to appear on the District of Columbia's commemorative quarter, CNN reports. The composer and performer, a DC native who died in 1975, beat out abolitionist Frederick Douglass and surveyor and astronomer Benjamin Banneker in a vote of the capital's residents. Ellington becomes...

Lincoln Penny Gets a Redesign

Harry Kimball — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:40:01 CDT

The US Mint today unveiled four new designs that will adorn the back of the Lincoln penny next year to commemorate the bicentennial of Honest Abe’s birth, CNNMoney reports. The classic portrait of the 16th president will remain on the heads side. The reverse will depict scenes from Lincoln’s life,...

First Braille Coin Unveiled

Joseph Connelly — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:41:25 CDT

The US Mint unveiled the first coin bearing readable Braille letters yesterday. The silver dollar features the letters "Brl," code for Braille, and honors the 200th birthday of the eponymous creator of the alphabet for the blind, the AP reports. "This is going to put Braille in front of people...